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Microsoft: 'Please don't blow vape smoke into your Xbox Series X'

Videos circulated purporting to show the next-generation game console overheating and spewing smoke. It turns out people were likely just vaping into their Xbox.

Daniel Van Boom Senior Writer
Daniel Van Boom is an award-winning Senior Writer based in Sydney, Australia. Daniel Van Boom covers cryptocurrency, NFTs, culture and global issues. When not writing, Daniel Van Boom practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reads as much as he can, and speaks about himself in the third person.
Expertise Cryptocurrency, Culture, International News
Daniel Van Boom
2 min read
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Twitter/Xbox Studio

The Xbox Series X is only two days old and Microsoft has already been forced to tell people to not blow vape smoke into their consoles . Really.

As the next-generation Xbox became available on Tuesday, videos started to emerge on social media of consoles "overheating" and spewing  smoke though its vents up top. People began to quickly question whether the videos were fake, and a Spanish-language Twitter account called Xbox Studio (not an official Xbox account) showed how the smokey effect that people were claiming to be caused by overheating was more likely being achieved through blowing vape smoke into the console.

Xbox Studio's debunking video was retweeted over 3,400 times as of Wednesday, of course leading to a few folks trying their own DIY Xbox vape. 

"We can't believe we have to say this," the official Xbox account tweeted on Wednesday, "but please do not blow vape smoke into your Xbox Series X." Aaron Greenberg, head of marketing for Xbox, tweeted: "Put down the vape and pick up the controller." Too true, Aaron. Too true. 

When asked for a comment about videos alleging to show the Xbox Series X smoking, a Microsoft spokesperson on Wednesday morning said the company takes all product safety reports seriously and was investigating further. 

The Xbox Series X launched Tuesday alongside the smaller, cheaper and less powerful Xbox Series S. The Series X will set you back $500 (£450, AU$749), while the Series S, with no disc drive or 4K capability, is a more affordable $300 (£250, AU$499). The PlayStation 5 follows on Thursday

Watch this: We put the Xbox Series X through a heat test